Improvement in sleeping-cars



3-. L. MITCHELL. SLEEPING-CAR.

Patented Dec.

N- PETERS, PHOTULITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON, D10.

UNI E STATES PATENT IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEPING-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 171.239, dated December21, 1875; application filed November 27, 1575.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, JAMES L. MITCHELL, of

Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and Territory of Colorado, have inventeda new and 1111- quired for use, without becoming detached from the wall.Italso relates to the construction of the hinge thereof, and apartition-section, adapted to be securedvertically, to aid in supportingthe upper berth, or horizontally alongside the same. It also relates tothe construction whereby a detachable middle section of the lowerseat-section is adapted to be;

applied as a cover or top of said seats, sec

tions, or an extensionthereof. to other features, as hereinafterspecified.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a carj with my improvedsleeping-berth contrivance, Fig. 2

the same being adjusted for day use.

is a transverse section of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section,showing the contrivance for night use. Fig.4 is a transverse section ofFig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail section of the contrivance for holding theseats, so that they maybe shifted as required, and at the same timepreventing them from moving out of place by the shaking of the car. Fig.6 is a detail of the hook employed to connect the upper berth to theside of the car-body. Said figure also shows the arrangement of thehook, or its mode of connection with the slotted plate attached to theside of the car.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. A is theframe of the upper berth, which is connected to the sideB of thecar-body by hooks G and slotted plates D, so that it can be dropped downand folded against the side-of the car-body underthe window, as shown inFig. 1, and also be supported at the upper end of the slotted plates fora bed, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The slots are wider at the top E thanbelow, and the hooks have a narrow part, a, and a wide part, b, socontrived that.

when the berth swings down parallel to the side of the car-body, thepart a allowsthe It also relates berth to slide up or down freely; butwhen, after raising the hooks to the top of the slots, v the berth isswung up level, the wide parts I) ot the hooks swing through the parts Eof the slots'and drop behind the shoulders, so that the berth issupported on said shoulders, and at the same time held securely againstdisconnecting from the wall. The hooks have shoulders 01 inside of thepart a, which prevent the disconnection of the berth while sliding upand down, but they disconnect readily at the top of the slots wheneverit may be required to do so for cleaning and for other purposes. Theupper berth is supported at the front by the legs F resting on theseat-arms G, the legs being hinged to the bottom of the berth, so as tofold up against the bottom, as shown at I. The section-partition J,except a small portion, M, is made entirely independent of the carseats,and fastened up detachably by boltsK, or other suitable means, and has afolding joint at L, so that it can be taken down and placed in front ofthe bed, and be fastened in that position by its bolts, which catch insmall sections M of said partitions, which is perma- 11 en t1 y set upand made separate from the main portions, which section incloses at theend the space containing the bed. The back side rail N of the upperberth A forms the shelf or ledge under the window, corresponding to theordinary projecting ledge of the-car-body, but being a little wider thancommon. To allow of folding the top berth down this way the seats arecontrived to move out from the wall; and to hold them so as to allow ofsuch movements, and atthe same time secure them against shaking out ofplace by the jarring of the cars, the legs will drop into littlecavities 0 in the floor, and one leg will have a slide-bolt, P, passingthrough the plate 0. forming the cavity, and fastening below by aspring-catch, Q, having a thumb-bit, R, by which to disengage it. On thebottomthe legs will be shod with a convex plate, S, corresponding to thecavityplate 0, and being suitable for the seats to slide back and forthon when shifting from one position to the other. The middle sections Tof the lower berth are constructed to rest on the end sections V, andform part of the. seat in the day-time, and they are supported, whenadjusted for the bed, in the rabbets V of the OFFICE.

end seotions,and by hinged legs W, which fold under them when on theseat; The rabbutsY are filled by the ribs X when the seats are made up,the said ribs hiding the cushions of the sections V, and making asuitable finish. Studs t are set vertically in the rabbeted portion V,and coincident holes are formed in the under side of the rib X ofsections V. The latter are secured to the seat U in either position bymeans of said studs.

By having the section-partitions independent of the seabbacks, thelatter are forced to turn over for fronting either way, and by havingthe seats movable they can be shifted about to front the windows or theopposite seats, or in any desired direction. The seats are boxed belowat Y, for stowing the bedding.-

The curtains will be made separate for each berth, the upper one, Z,being suspended from the roof of the car, and the lower one, Z, from theupper berth.

When the berths are made up the seats will be shifted back toward theside of the car the width of the space made vacant by the removal of theupper berth and the partition,

thus affording a little more middle space in the car at night. Two setsof cavities, 0, will be provided for this purpose.

The upper berth has a hook-ended slide-bolt, a, at each end, whichslides out a certain distance, and hooks into a catch, 1), on thesection-partition, to hold the berth temporarily when let down, till thesupports F are adjusted. These bolts connect all the berths andsection-partitions of one side of a car, and thus make all moresubstantial than they otherwise would be.

Havingthus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The upper berth N, having a slidinghingeconnection with the side of the car, substantially as shown anddescribed, whereby it is adapted to be raised and assume a horizontalposition, or to be lowered and maintain a vertical position against orparallel to the wall, as

shown and described.

2. The detachable partition-sections J, having the hinged and foldingparts, and provided with fastenin gs, as described, whereby it isadapted to be secured in a vertical position as a partition, orhorizontally alongside the upper berth, to form a panel-protector forthe same, as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a lower seat-section having a rabbet along thefront edge, and studs t, set vertically therein, of a detachable part,T, having folding legs, and provided with holes in its ribs X, toreceive said studs when in either of its allotted positions, as shownand described.

4. The combination, with the upper berth,

arranged to fold down against the side of the car, of the side rail N,forming the ledge below the window, and the section J, forming the sidepanel of the car-body, substantially as specified. 5. The combination ofthe hooks 0, having the parts I) a d, and the slotted plates D, havingupper wide notch E, with the upper berth and the car-body, substantiallyas specified.

6. The combination of convex plates on the seat-legs with cavity-platesO in the car-floor, substantially as specified.

7. Thecombination, with movable seats having a slide-bolt andspring-catch in the leg, of a catch-plate in the floor, substantially asspecified.

JAMES L. MITCHELL.

Witnesses:

A. P. THAYER, ALEX. F. ROBERTS.

